KC Chiefs roster: Marcus Kemp placed on COVID reserve list

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost a key special teams performer in wideout Marcus Kemp to COVID just before taking on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Week 11. That means further moves will likely be coming after the team placed him on the COVID reserve list on Thursday.

Kemp is one of the Chiefs’ core special teams players, a guy who plays on every coverage unit and is trusted implicitly by Dave Toub, the team’s special teams coordinator. Given that Josh Gordon doesn’t play special teams, it will be interesting to see how the team shifts things there to bolster the units while Kemp is out.

Fortunately, the team’s bye week is coming in Week 12, which means Kemp is likely going to miss a single game unless he remains symptomatic for quite some time. The team did not say how Kemp contracted the virus exactly but it’s clear from a lack of other moves that it was an isolated incident, which was likely the first and foremost concern for the organization when hearing of Kemp’s positive test in the first place.

The Chiefs will be without Marcus Kemp on Sunday against the Cowboys.

Kemp has played in every game this year, so special teams units will be forced to adjust, but the Chiefs only deploy Kemp on a handful of offensive snaps each game, so his contributions there won’t be missed too much. Byron Pringle and/or Demarcus Robinson could take on more in both areas, but it’s also possible that this is a good fit for Gehrig Dieter to make the leap to the active roster this week and play that same role.

Other options on the practice squad include rookie Cornell Powell and Daurice Fountain.